A program of experimentation involves maxillofacial growth studies in animal subjects. Objectives include elucidation of normal and abnormal growth mechanisms which may operate in human patients having craniofacial developmental anomalies. Emphasis is on identification of physical variables in cleft lip and palate habilitation which may play roles in aberrant modification of post-treatment growth and function. Recent attention has focused on the normal contraction phase of surgical wound healing in palatal mucoperiosteum and on the possible interrelationships with postsurgical maxillofacial growth.